Clinton's Global Vision Brings Power Players To Town

As if the heightened security and worse-than-usual traffic snarling in midtown Manhattan isn't clue enough, it's that time of year again; when former President Bill Clinton gathers power brokers and problem solvers at the Sheraton near Central Park for his Global Initiative conference.

This year, 1,300 delegates from 72 countries--including 52 current or former heads of state--are reporting to the third annual Clinton Global Initiative, and while there are a few changes, the mission is the same: Gather political leaders, government officials, NGOs and business people from across the globe to solve the planet's most pressing problems. Attendees agree that in order to come, they must design a specific project to work on and offer the financial backing to make it happen before the next conference.

This isn't lip service. Despite the $15,000 "membership," participants who don't follow through on their commitments are barred from coming back the following year. Last year, 17 former attendees were not allowed back from the previous year, and this year the number dropped to five. As a Clinton press secretary put it, "We're not the philanthropy police." But they do want to impress upon people that the idea is not to schmooze, it's to work.

As a result of the first two conferences, pledges in excess of $10 billion were raised, and Clinton said there were now more than 600 commitments affecting more than 100 countries.

There are some changes to the agenda. Each year, there are four areas that delegates focus on: global health, energy and climate change and poverty alleviation. One area changes annually; this year's new addition is education.

The roster of delegates, as you would expect, is impressive. This morning's opening session saw Hamid Karzai, president of Afghanistan; H. Lee Scott, CEO of
Wal-Mart
; Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo--whom Clinton introduced as a former classmate of his at Georgetown--onstage with former Vice President and Oscar winner Al Gore and Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank.

Thursday morning's plenary session will be led by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

At Wednesday's morning session, Clinton recognized five project commitments for this year, including praise for a $2.4 billion commitment by
Florida Power and Light
and the state's Republican governor Charlie Crist for aiding in investment in solar power generation.

Former Vice President Al Gore talked of the need for a binding treaty to come out of the next global climate change conference, set for Bali in early December, and called on President George W. Bush to take the lead in showing the world that the U.S. takes carbon dioxide emission reduction seriously. 'We need the equivalent of a global Marshall Plan," he said, to demonstrate that action to find a solution on climate change is central to solving all the other serious issues on the conference agenda.

And of course, it wouldn't be a global conference on poverty and education if Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt weren't here. Actor and do-gooder Jolie will speak alongside the minister of education of Afghanistan, the president of Colombia and the founder of an organization that assists the Sudanese people in a panel entitled "Promise of Education in Conflict and Post-Conflict Situations." There was no mention of whether Maddox will join her, though her partner Brad Pitt spoke this afternoon.

Pitt's Make It Right organization is partnering with Hollywood millionaire Steve Bing to create 150 affordable and sustainable homes. "We chose to be in the Lower Ninth Ward because it's an icon for New Orleans," said Pitt, during a working session. "It has the least likely chance of a successful return. After the flood, they were the last to be helped. These are people who did everything right. They bought homes, got jobs. All that has been obliterated and they need some help."

There is one other change to the conference approach from last year. With more than 50,000 people following the Webcast of the proceedings last time, the CGI has decided to broaden the connection to ordinary citizens, launching Web site www.mycommitment.org to allow individuals to make their own commitments to action.